Data Appendix

For all data, it should cover the academic year previous to our rankings cycle. Our cycles start in November of each year - so, when the cycle begins in November 2023, we are collecting data for the 2022 academic year. This will be approximately Jan to December 2022 for the Southern Hemisphere, and August 2022 to July 2023 for the Northern Hemisphere.

The average tuition fees per academic year  that a local/international student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate/postgraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree/postgraduate degree. This should include all compulsory annual fees a local/international undergraduate/postgraduate student is expected to pay.

Working or studying for at least 75% of a number of hours considered normal or standard.

Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is the total number of full-time personnel (staff/students) it would take to meet the commitments currently met by both the full-time and part-time personnel. If there are no part-time personnel, then FTE figure is equal to the headcount figure.

FTE = full-time count + (part-time count/3). This can be used both for faculty staff and student calculations.

FTE = the overall commitment in hours divided by commitment in hours of a full-time personnel.

The term “international” should be determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even if from another EU state. In Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR, this includes professors from Mainland China. Inclusion and exclusion mirrors those for academic faculty staff and students more generally. In case of dual citizenship, the deciding criteria should be ‘citizenship obtained through birth’.

Students refers to all students (undergraduate, masters and PhD) studying solely at your institution towards a full degree. For specific definitions of e.g. undergraduate / international / postgraduate / part-time, please see the individual definitions.

Exchange and distance students are excluded. As for summer school and/or language students, if they take up a particular (language) course that is outlined as ‘undergraduate degree program’ and the student can earn credits towards their final degree they should be included under ‘international undergraduate students’.

Summer school and/or language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should not be counted under ‘Total International Students’.

Foreign dual degree students can be included under ‘international undergraduate students’ if they fulfil above criteria, spend at least three months at the university, earn credits towards their final degree and have the university’s name written on their diploma.

Exchange students should not be counted here - please see the separate definition for these students. 

Definition

The number of academic faculty staff employed by your institution that have a PhD or equivalent terminal degree.

Total number of academic faculty staff who are responsible for planning, directing or undertaking academic teaching only, research only or both academic teaching and research within Higher Education Institutions.

It should include:

vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals and deputy principals, professors, heads of school, associate professors, assistant professors, principal lecturers, readers, tutors, researchers, research fellows or postdoctoral researchers who contribute to teaching or research or both at your university for a minimum period of at least three months.

It should exclude:

Support staff (such as technicians, grant-support staff), PhD students who contribute to teaching, hospital residents who do not teach and/or undertake research in addition to clinical duties, exchange scholars and visiting faculty staff who are members of a university other than yours. Off-shore academic faculty staff and staff that hold an academic post but are not active due to retirement or honorary appointment are also excluded.

*The important distinction for us is that staff counted as 'research only' should be academically involved in that research and should be likely to publish research outputs.

The number of academic faculty staff who contribute to teaching or research or both for a minimum period of at least three months and who are of foreign nationality. NB, The number of International Academic Faculty Staff should be included into the number of Academic Faculty Staff.

The % of of staff recorded as Male in relation to all other registered genders such as female or non-binary.

Graduate & Postgraduate Students

Students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and Doctorate), including both taught and research postgraduates (e.g. PhD students). The count should include students from all branches, affiliations, facilities and institutions that operate under the name of the main university and are situated in the same country as the main university as well as grant diplomas with the main university’s name on it. If the branch/affiliation etc. is situated abroad such students are excluded into the count.

Graduate and postgraduate are synonyms to embrace all students pursuing Masters, Doctoral or similar degrees such as ‘Specialist’, mainly referring to Eastern European and Central Asian countries. The term graduate is more broadly used in US institutions and postgraduate in British and European institutions. That refers to programs leading to a second tertiary degree or equivalent qualification (UNESCO ISCED-2011 Level 7) and programs designed primarily to lead to an advanced research qualification, usually concluding with the submission and defense of a substantive dissertation of publishable quality based on original research (UNESCO ISCED-2011 Level 8).

Graduate & Postgraduate International Students

Please refer to definitions for International and for Graduate & Postgraduate students.

International Students

The total number of International students (see above definitions for International and Students)

Number of student nationalities

The total number of nationalities (refer to definition of international*) studying at your institution who satisfy the definitions for students*. 

Part-time graduate & postgraduate students

Students whose classroom time (either physical or virtual) or an equivalent resource commitment of an institution is less than 75% of the normal full-time annual study load.

Please refer to definition for Graduate & Postgraduate students.

It should include: evening students and weekend students, subject to 75% study load threshold is met.

It should exclude: online / distance learning students, correspondence students or students of any other study mode, where classroom time is less than 25% of the normal full-time annual study load.

Part-time undergraduate students

Students whose classroom time (either physical or virtual) or an equivalent resource commitment of an institution is less than 75% of the normal full-time annual study load.

Please refer to definition for undergraduate students.

It should include: evening students and weekend students, subject to 75% study load threshold is met.

It should exclude: online / distance learning students, correspondence students or students of any other study mode, where classroom time is less than 25% of the normal full-time annual study load.

Students (Overall)

The total number of all students (excluding exchange students)

Inbound and Outbound Exchange

Inbound and Outbound exchange students are defined as:

Inbound:

students registered at a foreign university that attend your institution on international exchange programs for at least one semester during the annual reporting period.

Outbound:

students registered at your university that attend a foreign university on an international exchange program for at least one semester during the annual reporting period.

• Exchange programs that award credits but are less than one semester in duration are to be excluded.
• The  exchange must be academic in nature and acknowledged by a formal agreement between the two Higher Education Providers.
• The international exchange programme must be between universities, NOT between a university and a company OR corporation OR a university with its international/offshore campuses.

Counting:

Here, 1 FTE can be arrived at so long as the minimum requirements listed above can be met. Variations could include:

• Student 1: 6 months exchange. Full-time. This is 1 FTE.
• Student 2: 12 months part time. 1 FTE
• Student 3: 12 months full time. This should also be 1 FTE.
  
  

Undergraduate students

Total number of students pursuing a Bachelor’s level or equivalent degree*.

 *This includes programs leading to a first tertiary degree or equivalent qualification (UNESCO ISCED-2011 Level 6).

This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate degrees. The count should include students from all branches, affiliations, facilities and institutions that operate under the name of the main university and are situated in the same country as the main university as well as grant diplomas with the main university’s name on it. If the branch/affiliation etc. is situated abroad such students are excluded from the counts.

It should exclude: online / distance learning students, correspondence students or students of any other study mode, where classroom time is less than 25% of the normal full-time annual study load.

Undergraduate international students

The number of undergraduate students who are foreign nationals and who spend at least three months at the university’s domestic physical campuses. See also *International (related to Staff and Students).

The average fees for a full year of a degree that a domestic postgraduate student is expected to pay. This includes all compulsory annual fees.

The average fees for a full year of a degree that an international postgraduate student is expected to pay. This includes all compulsory annual fees.

The average fees for a full year of a degree that a domestic student is expected to pay. This includes all compulsory annual fees.

The average fees for a full year of a degree that an International student is expected to pay. This includes all compulsory annual fees.

A grant or payment made to support a student's education, awarded on the basis of academic or other achievement. For rankings purposes, this is for fees only. The fund may come from the university, a private company, or a philanthropic organization. 

The percentage of Undergraduate students from the initial enrolment cohort that completed the degree course through to graduation in 100% of the allocated time. Please see here. 

See https://support.qs.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4405249339666-Graduate-Employment-Rate.  

Online systems such as Blackboard, Moodle, Edmodo, SumTotal Systems, Skillsoft, Cornerstone, Desire2Learn, Schoology, NetDimensions, Collaborize Classroom, Docebo, Interactyx, Kahoot, Google Classroom, Canvas by Instructure.

The percentage of first-year undergraduate students who continue to their second year of study.

A published or official framework where the institution explains their overall strategy and commitment to alleviating climate change.

The percentage of students whose primary guardians (parent(s)/caregiver) did not complete an undergraduate college or university degree. If either parent or guardian attended university (if more than one), students are excluded from this count. 

The definition of 'leadership' here is the executive leader of the university plus the highest level of university management. To draw parallels from the corporate world, it is is the 'C-Suite'  - e.g. the CEO, COO, CFO, COO and so forth. The important point is that these individuals report into the executive manager of the university. In our experience, the total headcount for 'leadership' would not much exceed 10 people, although there are of course exceptions to this. 

The total water consumption for all buildings, both academic and residential, for the previous reporting year. This year should match the year used for submitting staff & student data. It should be given in cubic meters (m3). If your institution records this in a different format, please convert to m3 for submission.

The total energy consumption for all buildings, both academic and residential, for the previous reporting year. This should match the year used for submitting staff & student data. 

Total greenhouse gas emissions for all buildings, both academic and residential, for the previous reporting year. Reported in kg CO2e. 

The presence of a student-led society on issues of sustainability provides future students the opportunity to be part of a likeminded group on this issue, and demonstrates a supportive campus atmosphere. We ask for proof as a link to the society, or a link to a document that outlines the structure, governance and key stakeholders of the society. 

The presence of a dedicated ethics committee is an important sign that research is being conducted with transparency and oversight, and that key ethical concerns can be properly raised and escalated. We may ask for proof of such a committee, which can take the form of: a link and or a document outlining the structure, governance and key stakeholders of the committee. 

A department which offers undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in subjects which tackle issues of sustainable development. Some examples may include: Environmental Sustainability BSc / MA Sustainable Development /  BA in Social Ecology / BSc in Sustainable Engineering / BS in Conservation Management. These are just a few examples. If in doubt, please submit a ticket and ask our team to guide you.

A research centre that exists to conduct research into topics of sustainable development. This should be a named centre, with a director and centre-specific staff. It may be research only, or research & teaching combined. 

A publicly accessible policy (e.g. on an institution's website, or as part of an annual report) that sets out how the university plans to procure (purchase) in a sustainable manner, by, for example, purchasing from local suppliers, or using only recycled materials in building work. This is a key feature of corporate social responsibility. 

A publicly accessible policy (e.g. on an institution's website, or as part of an annual report) that sets out how the university invests in a sustainable manner, by, for example, investing in renewable energies or in medicines to tackle global health crises. Socially responsible investing is a key feature of corporate social responsibility. 

A publicly available policy that sets out an approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the institution. It should clearly state what actions are being taken to promote diversity (race / gender / sexual orientation / disability) and how the institution is creating an inclusive study and work environment.

The minutes from your university's governance meetings. This would typically be a meeting held by the senate, board or equivalent governing body and be annual or bi-annual.

Minutes should be recorded in clear and concise form, and would typically include:

• the formal recommendations, and formal decisions which a committee has made, in line with its terms of reference.

The minutes should be publicly available. This is a key feature of good and transparent governance.